Tesoro's Best Buddies aim to erase the 'R-word'

Tesoro High School's Best Buddies Club is proud to be spearheading a "Spread the Word to End the Word" pledge drive on their Las Flores campus.

Spread the Word to End the Word is an ongoing effort by Special Olympics, Best Buddies, and supporters worldwide to raise awareness about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the R-word – "retard" or "retarded" – and encourage people to stop using it.

On Mar. 6, the Tesoro Best Buddies Club members passed out stickers and asked classmates, teachers, parents and staff to take the pledge. They encouraged everyone to sign a banner they made, signifying their commitment to stop using the offensive and derogatory word.

The club is part of the international nonprofit Best Buddies organization founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver.

Tesoro's Best Buddies Club has 100 members comprised of 30 buddies who have been paired with 30 peer students, and an additional 40 members at large. As a group they attend monthly meetings, participate in on-campus events such as Valentine's Day parties and dances, and enjoy off-campus special events like a recent trip to Disneyland. Buddies and their peer partners meet to go the movies, play video games or sports, go shopping or just hang out.

They do everything high school friends do.

"The Best Buddies program helps not only students with disabilities make friends, it helps everyone make friends. The friendships you make are the lifelong kind," said Samantha Lima, President of Tesoro's Best Buddies Club. "They are so special and treasured every day."

The buddies teach us so much more than we teach them.

The next big event planned for Tesoro's Best Buddies Club is April 19 when we are hosting a Spaghetti Feed followed by the Best Buddies Prom. For more information, contact Trey Wilmer, Tesoro High School Faculty Advisor to the club, TRWILMER@capousd.org or 949-234-5310.

Write for us: Colin Kennedy is a junior at Tesoro High School and vice president of the Best Buddies Club. Are you a student? Would you like to write an article for us? Send an email to Community Editor Kelli Hart Kehler at khart@ocregister.com.